‘All public health now requires a global perspective’

SLU Public Health Dean discusses the field of public health in the August Issue of St. Louis Magazine

Dr. Edwin Trevathan, MD, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health, was featured in St. Louis Magazine, in an article titled "Local & Global: Saint Louis University's Dr. Edwin Trevathan is leading the charge to preserve public health."

Trevathan focuses on the international efforts of public health in the article as the "factors that impact health do not respect borders" he wrote to the Magazine. Since Trevathan arrived at SLU in September of 2010, he has made it his goal to position SLU as a global leader in public health.

This summer, Trevathan has taken time away from SLU to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Wuhan China. He will be the first to tell you that these trips were not vacations, instead Trevathan was increasing SLU's global presence.

Wuhan China has been a hot spot for SLU in recent years as Associate Professor Zhengmin Qian, MD, PhD is currently studying the impact of Chinese air pollution on infants. He believes that once he gathers more data, these results will also be able to provide agencies in the United States with a lot of information that could influence future environmental policy. During the trip to Wuhan, Trevathan, Qian and Assistant Professor Jen Jen Chang, PhD, MPH visited the program directors at the National Center for Woman and Children's Health at the China CDC.

"Dr. Trevathan was very influential in helping us build connections internationally," Qian said. "These connections will be very valuable for gathering further data for this study."

On the local side, Trevathan also addresses the state of health care in the city of St. Louis. In the last several years, St. Louis has improved access to health care, but as Trevathan points out, "solving the access problem alone will not make us a healthier country. We have to address the population-level determinants of health."

This issue of St. Louis Magazine focused on medical care and public health. SLU was also represented by Howard Place, MD (Orthopedics) and Robert Blaskiewicz, MD (Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health) who were profiled in the issue. One hundred and fifty-three doctors from SLUCare were also selected for the "2012 Best Doctors" list.